Jeremiah Chapter 16
Showing all 21 verses for Jeremiah Chapter 16.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, "
"This is another message that came to Jeremiah from God."
Sometimes what's asked of you isn't just words but how you actually live - your life itself can be a message to others. Be ready for that kind of costly integrity.
"Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. "
""You must not marry a wife or have sons or daughters here.""
Sometimes living out truth costs you things others take for granted - and that sacrifice itself can become a message that words alone couldn't deliver. I recognise and honour costly obedience.
"For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; "
""This is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this place, and about the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them.""
When systems fail badly enough, it can affect even the most personal, hopeful parts of life. That's why working for justice and honesty now matters - to protect the vulnerable, including children yet to come.
"They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. "
""They will die from terrible causes; no one will mourn them or bury them - their bodies will just lie there like dung on the ground. They'll be destroyed by war and famine, and their corpses will become food for birds and wild animals.""
I never want you to become numb to suffering just because it's described in strong terms - let it move you towards compassion and towards changing whatever you can change, rather than looking away.
"For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. "
""Don't go into houses where people are mourning; don't grieve with them or comfort them - because I have withdrawn my peace from this people, along with my faithful love and mercy.""
When trust is broken again and again, comfort and closeness naturally become harder to offer - this is a real dynamic in relationships, not just ancient theology. Faithfulness protects the very things - peace, kindness, connection - we all want.
"Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: "
""Everyone will die in this land, rich and poor alike - no burial, no mourning, no cutting themselves or shaving their heads in grief, as was the custom.""
Real accountability doesn't play favourites based on status or wealth - and neither should how you treat people. Fairness matters at every level of life.
"Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. "
""No one will tear their clothes or bodies in mourning to comfort the bereaved, nor offer the customary cup of comfort to someone grieving a father or mother.""
Don't take for granted the small acts of comfort we offer each other in hard times - a meal, a visit, simply showing up. These matter more than we often realise, especially when the world feels like it's falling apart.
"Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. "
""You must not go into a house where there's celebrating either, to sit and eat and drink with them.""
Sometimes conviction means stepping back from everyday life to make a point that really matters - even when it costs you normal enjoyment and connection. I understand that kind of costly witness.
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. "
""This is what the Lord of heaven's armies, Israel's God, says: I will make the sounds of joy and gladness disappear from this place in your own lifetime - the voices of the bridegroom and the bride will stop.""
Don't take ordinary joys - celebrations, weddings, laughter with friends - for granted. They're precious, fragile gifts, not guaranteed forever, and worth cherishing while you have them.
"And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? "
""When you tell the people all this, they'll ask you, 'Why has the Lord declared this terrible disaster against us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?'""
When hard consequences arrive in your life, it's worth genuinely asking "what part did I play here?" rather than assuming you're simply an innocent victim of bad luck. Real self-honesty, even when uncomfortable, opens the door to change.
"Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; "
""Tell them: because your ancestors abandoned me, followed other gods, served and worshipped them, turned away from me, and didn't keep my law.""
Patterns that started before you were even born can shape your life - recognising that isn't about blame, but about breaking cycles rather than repeating them unconsciously. You have the power to choose differently than what came before you.
"And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: "
""And you have done even worse than your ancestors - each of you following the stubborn desires of your own wicked heart, refusing to listen to me.""
You can acknowledge how your upbringing or circumstances shaped you, and still be responsible for the choices you make today. Don't use "that's just how I was raised" as a permanent excuse to avoid change.
"Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour. "
""So I will throw you out of this land into a place neither you nor your ancestors have ever known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no favour there.""
Be careful what you chase, because sometimes you get to keep it - and discover it was never able to give you what you actually needed. Choose what you pursue based on what actually sustains you, not just what's easiest in the moment.
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; "
""But look - the days are coming, says the Lord, when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt.'""
However dark things get, that darkness doesn't have to be the final chapter of the story. I'm always working towards a future restoration, even when the present feels like all is lost.
"But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. "
""Instead they will say, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had scattered them' - because I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.""
Consequences don't erase the possibility of eventual restoration - I hold both truths together. If you're in a hard season now, know that isn't the last word on your story either.
"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. "
""I will send many fishermen to catch them, says the Lord, and afterwards many hunters to hunt them down from every mountain, hill, and cave in the rocks.""
Running from consequences or hiding from hard truths about your life rarely works forever - it's usually better to face things honestly and early, rather than waiting to be "caught" by circumstances.
"For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. "
""I see everything they do - none of it is hidden from me, and their wrongdoing isn't concealed from my sight.""
Living with integrity, even when no one seems to be watching, matters because character is who you are when you think no one's looking. I see the whole picture of your life - the private moments as much as the public ones.
"And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. "
""First, I will pay them back double for their sin and wrongdoing, because they have polluted my land, filling my inheritance with the lifeless idols they treated as gods - detestable, disgusting things.""
The choices you make don't just affect you privately - they shape the environment and relationships around you too. Live in ways that build up your shared world, not pollute it.
"O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. "
"Jeremiah responds: "Lord, you are my strength, my fortress, my safe place in times of trouble - even the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth and say, 'Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies, worthless things, useless idols.'""
Truth has appeal beyond any one group or background - genuine wisdom and real security draw people in, regardless of where they started. I welcome anyone, from any background, who recognises what's real and turns towards it.
"Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? "
""Can a person make gods for themselves? Because whatever they make, it's not really a god at all.""
Be honest about what you're actually putting your trust in - is it something that can really hold the weight of your hope, or something you've built up yourself that can't actually deliver? Real security comes from something bigger than what we can manufacture ourselves.
"Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD. "
""So this time, I will make them know - I will make them know my power and my strength, and they will know that my name is 'The LORD.'""
Sometimes hard experiences are what finally get our attention and help us see clearly what actually matters. I want you to know what's real, even if the path there is sometimes difficult.